The most famous sled dog race is getting off to a rough start. Only 33 mushers (racers) signed up. That’s the smallest number of mushers ever!

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race starts this weekend in Willow, Alaska. The mushers will take their dog teams nearly 1,000 miles over Alaska’s rough wilderness. In 2008, 96 mushers raced—the most ever. The average number of racers over the last 50 years was 63.

So why aren’t there many racers now? Old mushers retire. New ones find it too expensive to race. Some wonder: Will the Iditarod last with so few people interested in racing?

Iditarod racers sprint over two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River, and the icy Bering Sea. The race takes about 10 days. The winner pockets about $50,000 before taxes. That sounds like a lot. But compare the prize to how much it costs to race. One racer has to pay $60,000 just to get his dogs from his home in Norway to Alaska.

Musher Brent Sass won the Iditarod last year. At other times of year, he works as a wilderness guide. He must earn money in order to care for his dogs. Mr. Sass has 58 dogs. He orders 500 bags of high-quality dog food each year. Each bag cost $55 a few years ago. But that has swelled to $85 per bag. That’s about $42,500 total for a year!

Mr. Sass says it’s important to be “totally prepared to run Iditarod.” He also says one must “have enough money in the bank to do it.”

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31